CHAPLIN, SASK.—Saskatchewan officials say incentives announced in this year’s budget will help move along plans to upgrade the Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals Inc. (SMMI) project to significantly upgrade its sodium sulphate plant in Chaplin.
SMMI’s $220 million sulphate of potash (SOP) fertilizer production upgrade, once complete, is expected to result in a 50 per cent increase in jobs at the Chaplin facility and more than 360 construction jobs. The upgraded facility is expected to produce 150,000 metric tonnes of SOP per year, which will be sold to North American and international markets as a high-quality fertilizer and plant nutrition product. Further expansion is planned to increase SOP tonnes and utilize reserves at Ingebrigt Lake.
“In this year’s budget, we changed sodium sulphate royalties to help complement and diversify our potash sector, as we continue to export fertilizer to the world,” Energy and Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre said in a media release. “As demand increases for these new products, we expect potash royalties to increase. This is about adding value: while sodium sulphate, as a standalone product, is somewhat in decline, the profitable SOP market has a strong long-term outlook.”
Currently the upgrade project has been conditionally approved to receive incentives which provide a 10 per cent credit for capital projects that diversify products or improve operating efficiency. The province has also trimmed the royalty rate for sodium sulphate production from four to three per cent to support the sector as it undergoes a transition.
The upgrade also received conditional approval under the province’s Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive (SCFI).
The SCFI is a non-refundable, non-transferable 15 per cent tax credit on capital expenditures valued at $10 million or more for newly constructed or expanded eligible chemical fertilizer production facilities in Saskatchewan.
SMMI has been producing sodium sulphate at its Chaplin facility more than 70 years.
The current Chaplin site is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway and the Canadian Pacific main east-west line.
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